Five Arrested in Dhenkanal SBI CSP Robbery, ₹6.5 Lakh Cash Recovered

Dhenkanal: Dhenkanal district police have arrested five alleged criminals in connection with the September 28 armed robbery at an SBI Customer Service Point (CSP) under Sadar police station and recovered ₹6.5 lakh in cash, a country-made pistol, ammunition and vehicles used in the crime, officials said on Monday.

The robbery took place at a CSP run by 49-year-old Sanjeev Kumar Behera, where three armed men allegedly threatened him with a firearm and knife before fleeing with ₹3.5 lakh, a gold ring and a mobile phone. The accused reportedly locked the CSP from outside and escaped on a motorcycle.

Police registered a case at Sadar police station (Case No. 830/2026) and launched an investigation using technical surveillance, CCTV footage and local intelligence. During interrogation, the arrested accused allegedly confessed to their involvement and revealed details about their associates.

The arrested persons were identified as Bika alias Bikash Nayak (24), Banti alias Amar Singh (26), Milan Naik (28), Bapi alias Ambika Prasad Das (21) and Brijesh Pradhan alias Jitu (26), police said.

The seizures included a country-made pistol, six live cartridges, four empty shells, three magazines, two knives, a small axe, a Maruti Baleno, a TVS Raider motorcycle, an Ola scooter, masks, gloves, chilli powder, 12 mobile phones and ₹6.5 lakh in cash.

Police said the accused are allegedly linked to several robbery, dacoity and theft cases across Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Angul, Jajpur and Keonjhar districts. Eight cases, including the latest robbery case, are registered against them at Sadar police station, while more than a dozen other cases are pending at Motanga, Rasol, Hindol and Town police stations, besides cases in Cuttack and Jajpur districts.

Sadar IIC Priyabrata Das, Town IIC Dhiren Behera, Motanga IIC Deepak Lenka, SIs Shaktiprasad Sahu and Pratap Sahu, along with other police personnel, were part of the operation.